FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Mark Sundlov
March 20, 2008
(701) 572-9034

NORTH DAKOTA REMEMBERS WORLD WAR II EXHIBIT OPENING
FEATURES DISTINGUISHED SPEAKERS, SPECIAL CONCERT APRIL 12

WILLISTON – The Missouri-Yellowstone Confluence Interpretive Center will host a Grand Opening event for their new exhibit, North Dakota Remembers World War II, on Saturday, April 12.  This special program will feature a wide variety of events including a showing of a documentary, lectures by distinguished speakers and a special concert.  The event is funded in part by the North Dakota Humanities Council, a nonprofit, independent state partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

All of the events during this day-long celebration are free and open to the public.  Free refreshments will also be available.

At 11:30 a.m. Central Standard Time, the day’s events will begin with a showing of “North Dakota Remembers World War II.”  The program features interviews of North Dakota World War II veterans recorded for the state’s Veterans History Project.  The program consists of two half-hour segments.  The first segment features eight interviews with veterans from the European Theatre.  The second segment features 11 interviews with veterans from the Pacific Theatre.

At 12:45 p.m., Professor Richard Stenberg will give a special presentation on the “The North Dakota Veterans History Project.”  Professor Stenberg is a leading historian of the Mondak Region and a Larry Remele Memorial Fellow, which is sponsored by the North Dakota Humanities Council.  Professor Stenberg has worked as a park ranger at Fort Union Trading Post National Historic Site and is currently an assistant professor of history at Williston State College.  His educational and enlightening lectures are not to be missed.

At 2 p.m., Professor David Danbom, Professor of History from North Dakota State University, will deliver a special presentation entitled, “North Dakota Agriculture During World War II.”  Professor Danbom, a North Dakota Humanities Council scholar, recipient of numerous prestigious awards, and a leading agricultural historian, explores the effects that the Depression in the 1930s had on farmers during the wartime in the 1940s.  This lecture should not be missed by anybody interested in agriculture or the history of our region.

At 3:30 p.m., the Grand Opening event will come to an exciting conclusion with a special concert by the XIT Gals of Sidney, Montana.  The XIT Gals will perform a number of World War II-era songs to provide a fitting and entertaining end to the day.  Don’t miss this special concert by one of the area’s best bands.

Throughout the day, guests are invited to view the new exhibit, North Dakota Remembers World War II.  Presenting stories of North Dakotans from all branches of the armed forces and their experiences worldwide, North Dakota Remembers World War II features World War II-era uniforms, medals, photographs, and other artifacts related to personal experiences in the war.  The exhibit focuses its attention on North Dakota’s soldiers and civilians that were directly impacted by the war.

Located one-half mile east of Fort Buford, the Missouri-Yellowstone Confluence Interpretive Center tells the story of the confluence of these two mighty rivers, as well as provides the same magnificent view that Lewis and Clark Expedition members enjoyed when they visited in 1805 and 1806.  One of the facility’s unique features is a large replica of a compass that the explorers carried on their 1803-06 expedition.  Located in the center of the facility’s rotunda, it measures eight feet in diameter and faces true north, just as Lewis and Clark would have looked north when they were at the same site 200 years ago.  The rotunda area includes three large murals featuring quotes from the Lewis and Clark Journals, and paintings of the Missouri River landscape by Colonel Philippe Régis de Trobriand, commanding officer of Fort Stevenson near present-day Garrison, N.D. in the late 1860s.

The Confluence Center is open year-round.  Its winter hours are now in effect, and are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Wednesdays through Saturdays, and 1 to 5 p.m. Sundays.  It is closed on New Year’s Day, Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas.  Admission to the Center’s exhibits is $5 per adult, $2.50 per child, ages 6-15, and children 5 and under are admitted free.

Free admission to all sites administered by the State Historical Society of North Dakota (SHSND) is one of the many benefits for members of the SHSND Foundation. Others include a 15 percent discount on museum store purchases, and the quarterly publications, North Dakota History and Plains Talk.  To become a member, call the Foundation at (701) 222-1966 or visit the website at www.statehistoricalfoundation.com. 

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